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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

I went for a short
walk just when the snow started coming down this morning, all bundled up with a
raincoat over my jacket and mittens over my gloves. One careful step after another
to start and little heel-toe wiggles here and there to make sure that the sidewalk
is not slippery. It wasn’t yet, so I walked on and smiled as the soft
snowflakes fluttered about and tickled my face. For a brief moment, I was
reminded of the very first time I got to examine snowflakes. There I was, on a
sidewalk, staring at the snowflakes that stuck to my coat with intent and
admiring their intricate formations before they dissolved into thin air.
Snowflakes are quite mesmerizing… their presence is seemingly fleeting until
they decide to gang up on you and cover everything with layers of white. The
walk only lasted for a short while because my face was getting wet and the
sidewalk was starting to feel slick under my boots.

Now I’m safely back
in the house, dry and cozy, watching the snow fall relentlessly, while nibbling
on my third cookie and sipping lukewarm tea. I have also just decided that
snowflakes are one of the most beautiful things in nature. However, I don’t
like the inconvenience of mounting piles of snow and hate driving in snowy or
icy road conditions. It is super scary, especially if you drive a little car
with bad traction.

I must admit
though, that I love snow days. On such days, DFJ gets to work from home and I
can bug him anytime. Snow days also give us a good reason to slow down and take
it easy. There is nowhere to go and no one is expecting you. Being forced to
stay indoors is the perfect excuse to make a big pot of coffee or drink copious
amounts of tea, snuggle up in a blanket and read a book, muse about silly
things and then write about them, bake bread (which is currently not rising as
happily as I would want it to), or make some homemade chicken broth (which is
filling our house with a wonderful smell). You could also bake some cookies,
but if you already have some sitting around, then just make a hot
beverage of your choice to have it with.

So last Sunday, I
baked some buckwheat cookies because my favorite blogger, Molly Wizenberg,
convinced me to. In her 92nd Spilled Milk podcast, she talked about these
amazing buckwheat cookies that have successfully piqued my interest… enough to
make me invest a few dollars on buckwheat flour and cocoa nibs (I gave my stash
away before our big move last July) just for this recipe. After creaming the
butter and sugar, I realized that the cocoa nibs were nowhere to be found. A
freak-out moment ensued and needless to say, it wasn’t pretty. Apparently, we
accidentally left the cocoa nibs at the store, along with two truffles. Boo! I
am down to my last bar of good, dark chocolate and didn’t want to cut it in
small shards for the cookie batter. So I decided to grind up some fresh coffee
beans, espresso style, and add it into the batter along with some mini morsels
of semi-sweet chocolate. The original recipe does not aim for sweetness but a
contrast of the bitter cocoa nibs in the sweet cookie dough. However, my
improvised version with coffee grounds works just fine too. I still intend to
make these cookies with cocoa nibs as soon as I get my hands on them and as
soon as this big pile of cookies we have will disappear.

Having never baked
with buckwheat flour before, I honestly did not know what to expect. I tried a
few cookies fresh from the oven and tasted the buckwheat. It definitely has
its own distinct flavor that almost puts it in the category of slightly
unpleasant. DO NOT let this turn you off. Please no! Instead, be patient and
wait… because half a day later, only a faint trace of the “buckwheatish” taste
is left. And if you wait for an entire day, it completely disappears. What
remains is a crispy, melt-in-your mouth buttery cookie that is unlike any
regular butter cookie. The buckwheat in the dough has some delightful
complexity to it that an unsuspecting friend would never be able to identify
what it is that makes it extra special. This cookie has an irresistible charm
that will make you keep coming back for more. The touch of espresso grounds is
a good contrast to the sweet dough and a few chocolate chips never hurt.

Since I did not
plan on writing a post about this recipe, I did not record the process of
making these cookies. I urge you to visit Molly’s page for the recipe. In lieu
of cocoa nibs, I used 1/3 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate cookies and 1 and ½
teaspoons of fresh, espresso ground, coffee beans.

Yesterday, I ate
about eight cookies before our hike at the state park nearby, plus two more
after dinner. It fueled me for a solid two and a half hours of trudging through mud in the beautiful, naked woods.

Today, I just inhaled the crumbs of my fifth cookie. I’m telling you, these are highly addicting!Stay warm my
friends! And to everyone out there who has to work during snow days, please be
safe, there's already four inches to contend with and more coming. To the mailman who just delivered a Christmas present for me from my
brother-in-law (The Zuni Café Cookbook), thank you. I wish I knew you were
coming today because I would have been so happy to share some of these
delicious cookies with you.

Friday, January 17, 2014

One of the things I
appreciate most is nourishing and delicious food. Nothing fancy, unheard of, or
too complicated. Sometimes, I crave just plain goodness. When I came upon Skye
Gyngell’s Chickpea and Chard Soup, it
spoke to me. I followed some of her methods but added and substituted some
ingredients to make my own version.

You might notice
that the ingredient list is spaced out. They are listed according to use. I
encourage you to read through the entire recipe first, before making the soup
to ensure that you have everything you need. I also used homemade vegetable
broth, which really is not too complicated to make.

Over the course of
a few weeks, collect scrap pieces of vegetables and save them in zip bags in
the freezer. For instance, the big broccoli or cauliflower stalks, cabbage
core, carrot tops, parsley or any herb stems, the ends of kale/collard
greens/Swiss chard stalks, onion peel and the thick first layer of the bulb,
and so on. When you have about two big bags full of veggie scraps, pull them
out of the freezer, dump them in a big pot, and cover with water. Then add more
fresh herbs if you have any that are just lying around (preferably thyme,
oregano, parsley, dill, rosemary, or sage), a few mashed cloves of garlic, one
or two bay leaves, a generous amount of salt, black peppercorns, and maybe some
olive oil (I forgot to add this in the latest broth that I made, it turned out
fine). Cover the pot, turn the heat on to medium, and bring the water to a
boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to a simmer, leave the pot partially
uncovered, and let it cook for 2-4 hours or until it takes on a murky green
color (sometimes it’s brownish). Let it sit for another hour or two until it
cools down and strain the liquid into a large container. Measure the broth into
cups and store in smaller containers in the freezer. Measuring it beforehand
will let you know how much is in each container so you just pull one or two out
as needed. Easy peasy!

This soup is
immensely satisfying. It has a bright lemony punch that is tampered by the
sharp richness of Parmesan cheese and the creamy bread pieces. After being
cooked for a long time, the lima beans take on a lovely, velveteen feel. The
softened Swiss chard leaves not only give the soup a boost of healthiness but
also add a pleasant touch of mild green flavors. And the stalks are there to
provide that perfect crunch. The mushrooms present a hint of earthy flavors and
texture variety. All these ingredients playing together in one pot make this
simple soup unforgettable. A big bowl or two is what you need to give yourself
some love.

Lima Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

Inspiration from My Favorite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell

1+1/8 cups (8 oz)
dry lima beans

3 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

juice of half a
large lemon

1 tablespoon olive
oil

Rinse the lima
beans. Place the beans in a medium size saucepan and cover with water. Sprinkle
with salt and toss in the bay leaf. Turn the heat on to medium high, cover, and
bring the beans to a boil. This will take about 7 minutes. Turn the heat down
to medium low and allow the beans to cook for about an hour. Partially uncover
the saucepan to keep it from boiling over, a thin sliver of opening for the
steam to come out is enough, otherwise the beans will dry out. Stir the beans
every now and then for even cooking. You will know that the beans are done when
they are tender all the way through as you bite into them. I suggest tasting 3
beans as some of them might be more done than the others. If your beans are not
done in an hour, add a few more minutes of cooking time.

When the beans are
cooked, drain the leftover water and move the cooked beans into a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the lemon juice and olive oil to dress the beans and mix well. Set
aside, until the soup mixture is ready.

Heat the olive oil
in a Dutch oven (which is what I used) or a large pot over medium heat. When
the oil is hot, toss in the garlic, mushrooms, parsley, and tarragon. Stir and
make sure everything gets coated with the oil then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of
salt. Stir every so often and cook for about 5 minutes until the mushroom
slices shrink and brown.

Add the diced
tomatoes in the mix and stir in ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cover the Dutch oven and
allow the tomatoes to cook for 20 minutes. Stir the mixture every now and
then.

Pour in the
vegetable stock, stir, and cover. Cook the stock with the tomatoes for 10
minutes, which is just enough for the flavors to start coming together.

Add the beans and
simmer, covered, on medium-low heat for 30 minutes. If it starts to boil,
partially uncover the lid. After 30 minutes, remove the lid entirely and let
cook for 10 more minutes.

Toss in the Swiss
chard stalks and leaves into the Dutch oven. Stir and let cook for 5-6 minutes,
until the leaves begin to wilt and submerge into the soup.

Stir in the grated
Parmesan cheese. It will immediately form into globs so make sure to stir it
evenly amidst the leaves and beans. Then, toss in the bread pieces and stir.
Continue to cook on medium low heat, uncovered, for another 10 minutes. The
soup will magically thicken up as the bread disintegrates and the flavors will
almost immediately transform into something richer and fuller.

Turn off the burner
and move the Dutch oven away from the heat. Season with olive oil and freshly
cracked black pepper. The extra olive oil at the end works really well to
mellow out the lemony punch. However, if you like the soup the way it is, feel
free to omit the extra olive oil.

*Note on preparing Swiss chard:

Hold a Swiss chard
leaf stalk-side up. Use a sharp knife and slide it along the inner sides of the
stalk to separate the leaves. Cut the stalks into ½ inch chunks and tear the
Swiss chard leaves into big pieces.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Yesterday was a
beautiful day. When it is nice and sunny outside, there is a golden glow that
brightens the inside of our house, masking the dust on the windowsill and the
unswept floors. It gives our living space an illusion of cheeriness despite the
constant clutter of mail (mostly unopened), books, notes, to-do lists, a
sweatshirt or two, and the well-loved blanket crumpled on the couch... I simply
love it! This is our life and we somehow manage to navigate it well-enough
despite our seemingly immature ways.

That light
illuminating our house inspired me to get busy in the kitchen and formulate a
yoga class sequence as I went out for a walk. When I got home, I pulled out the vegetable scraps
that I save in the freezer and proceeded to make vegetable stock that was later
used for Ottolenghi’s Mushroom and Herb Polenta from Plenty. It was divine!

While the vegetable
stock was cooking, I perused my cookbooks for something to bake that will be
perfect for dessert, breakfast, or snacks. This almond biscotti recipe leapt
out of the page from my recently acquired cookbook, Salt to Taste, a gift from my mother-in-law for my birthday. The
ingredient list consisted of things that are already in our pantry and the
baking process is simple.

I like biscotti
because it is easy to enjoy at any time of the day without feeling too
indulgent. We had it with ice cream last night, DFJ had it with his espresso
this morning, and I am currently enjoying two with my latte while writing this
post at 3:00 in the afternoon. I did a little research and found out that biscotti
are particularly great dipped in sweet late-harvest wine with a shot of
espresso. Unfortunately, we don’t normally have sweet wine on hand.

This almond
biscotti recipe is simply delicious! It is like a lighter version of a butter
cookie, dry enough to definitely be a biscotti, but teeters to the side of
chewy. These biscotti have an uncharacteristic tenderness and the way it yields
to your teeth when you bite into it is delightful. I am a big fan of orange
zest and thus added more than the original recipe required. The orange zest
infused into the sugar definitely gives it lively notes of orange flavor.
Initially, I was skeptical about the half pieces of almonds in the dough and
thought them to be too big. However, after eating a few, I realized how lovely
it is to truly taste the almonds when they are cut more generously into halves
versus slivers. The amount of sugar in the dough is just enough for a trace of
sweetness to linger on your tongue after your last bite.

Almond Biscotti

Slightly Adapted
from Salt to Taste: The Keys to Confident, Delicious Cooking by Marco Canora

In a large mixing
bowl, use your fingertips to massage the orange zest into the sugar until the
granules take on an orange tint and the zest is evenly dispersed. Mix the
butter into the sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture resembles small
clumps of wet sand. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix on high speed
until the batter is smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl,
whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and freshly grated
nutmeg.

Pour the flour
mixture into the wet mixture and mix on low-speed until everything is
well-combined and the dough comes together. Add the almonds into three
portions. At this point, the dough will be harder to handle so use a plastic or
wooden spatula to cut into the dough and fold the almonds in.

Move an oven rack
to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Thoroughly grease
a baking sheet with a tad of butter.

Divide the dough in
half. Lightly flour a clean work surface and scoop out half the dough with your
hands. Gently form it into a ball, then roll it into a 12 inch or so long log
on the floured surface. Transfer the log onto the greased baking sheet. The log
will deform upon transfer, so ease the dough back into a nice log using your
fingers, flatten the top with your fingertips, and smooth out the sides to even
the length. Repeat this procedure for the other half of the dough.

Bake for 24-25
minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the time. When you pull the
logs out of the oven, the bottom should be golden brown and the top just a
shade of golden. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let cool for 10
minutes.

Lower the oven
temperature to 250 degrees F.

Use a serrated knife
to slice the logs into ¾ inch thick biscotti. Place the slices back into the
baking sheet, cut-side down and toast in the oven for 7 minutes. Turn the
biscotti the other cut-side down and toast for another 7 minutes, until they
dry out.

Remove from the
oven. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow the biscotti to cool
completely before storing in an airtight container.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

The flurry of
Christmas and other holiday related activities are now over. My coat is zipped
up to my chin and our little space heater is keeping my toes warm. I’m sipping
a lukewarm homemade latte that DFJ made before leaving for work. He left for
work hours ago but I sometimes like to save my coffee for thinking time. I like
to think that it helps me write better or come up with quality ideas. But
really all I can think of right now is how much more delicious my latte is with whole
milk, I'm sticking with this.

We celebrated
Christmas with DFJ’s family… good food, gorgeous mini-cookies, wine, presents, a big
house party with friends and family from all over the world, downtime,
workouts, yoga, cold walks with the dog, dishes, and football. It was fun, as always.
New Year’s was pretty low key. It involved homemade crab pizza (which was more fancy
crackerish than doughy), delicious DFJ margaritas, and beer for DFJ and his
brother. I remember apples, hard cheese, and pistachios for hors d’oeuvres;
pizza and football then Futurama; frantic running through a muddy path in the
dark to catch the fireworks display; candy spilling out of my coat pocket; and
falling asleep on the couch. We didn’t do a countdown nor kiss each other when
the clock struck midnight. How did we miss that? Somehow I do not remember much
except for an image of DFJ and his brother staring up at the fireworks looking
like star-struck little boys as 2013 slipped by. The next day we lounged around watching football and then we bundled up and went on a New Year's Day hike at a historic park in the twilight... the only girl amongst DFJ and his brothers. They are now my brothers too. Funny how life connects you to people like that. Seeing them together makes me smile but I also can't help feeling a twinge of jealousy about the fact that his family is close by and mine is thousands of miles away.

Today, I am writing to bid 2013 a proper goodbye. Oh what a crazy
year!

January: DFJ and I
went cross country skiing in Winthrop, WA and I found my winter sport!

February: A
whirlwind of emotions went back and forth but we still ended up getting engaged
on Valentine’s Day under a smiling sliver of moonlight on a cold, windy night
on our special bridge.

March: Juggled work with wedding
preparations, Greencard paperwork, and so on...

April: WE GOT
MARRIED! We also went on our first outdoor trip of the year with special
friends (Eagle Creek, OR).

April 6th, 2013

May: DFJ got a job
offer in Maryland, which meant we had to move and I had to quit my job. It was
equal parts exciting and heartbreaking (maybe a bit more heartbreaking).

June: Barely got
through my last days of work without crying. My heart broke a thousand times
over when I waved goodbye to the last school bus. DFJ and I flew East for a
wedding, house hunting, and beaching.

Baltimore, MD

Long Beach Island, NJ

July: Packing and
cleaning the apartment. Preparing for our wedding reception. Cramming trips and
outdoor activities here and there. Our beautiful wedding reception with all our Washington friends. A trip to Bend, OR (someday, DFJ
and I will live there).

JOE!

Wallula Gap, WA

Coeur de A'lene, ID

7-27-13 Wedding Reception in Selah, WA

Mt. Bachelor, OR

August: We drove
across the country: WA to MD... 2,700 miles. WHEW! A few stops to see friends and family along the
way (Idaho and Colorado) and some play time on the bright orange rocks and
arches in Moab, UT.

Idaho

Arches National Park, Moab, UT

Canyonlands, Moab, UT

St. Louis, MO

September: Settling
in… While DFJ was busy working, I was busy reading all my books prior to yoga
teacher training, and buffing up for it too.

October: YogaWorks
Teacher Training in New York City with Jenny Aurthur. A most unforgettable experience! During the course of the training, I lived with my aunt in New Jersey and commuted to the city every day. It was a treat to live with her family... it's been so long since I have been pampered like a child.

November: A big
birthday for me! This chocolate angel food cake with mocha frosting that DFJ
made as a surprise melted my heart. Can you tell how old I am? NYC: I fell in love with The High Line and Bleecker Street. Sunset in DC. Thanksgiving with my in-laws in
Pennsylvania and a homecoming/post-wedding party for DFJ and I hosted by his
parents. I married the most wonderful man and gained a wonderful family.

December: Holiday
festivities. Getting ready for new opportunities: substitute teaching and yoga
teaching. Holy schmolly! I am really going to start teaching yoga and cannot
tell you how so very anxious and excited I am about this. Most of my December days (pre-holiday) were spent reflecting and musing.
I wondered about what I really wanted to do with my life and still haven’t
found a good answer. One thing for sure is that I am ready to have a brighter
perspective and live fully each day.

On a completely unrelated note, DFJ bought these flowers at the grocery store on December 8th and half of them are still pretty and sitting in fresh water on our dining table. The cinnamon rolls are long gone though...

In a nutshell, 2013
was a very big year for us… a year full of new beginnings, fun adventures, and
promises of a wonderful life together. We still have a lot of growing up to do,
many friends to see, places to travel, families to visit, and endless
responsibilities. All of these things await in 2014, but for today, we are
thankful for all that 2013 has given to us. Here’s to 2013!

To the man I love…
you are the best and I am lucky to have your hand to hold forever.

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!